KamnanT

Even if your wife was able to return to Thailand to appear with you for your extension application, the fact remains, as Ubonjoe points out, that you would be married "de jure" (in law) but not "de facto" (in practice). It may be a quaint little 19th century anachronism, but living together is still considered a key determinant of "de facto" marriage. The Police Order requires both the law and the practice to qualify for a marriage extension.

A one year multiple entry Non-Imm "O" appears to be the most suitable alternative.

^{Joined in 2002 not long after arriving in Thailand. While the kids were growing up, it was a great place to go on weekends for the pool and to play tennis with friends. Despite the name (and popular misconception), membership is open to all nationalities and is pretty diverse. And yes, the fish & chips are good but the extensive Thai menu is also excellent. As for all the comments about snooty members clubs from posters who have never visited - well, ignorance is bliss. If you don't like the idea of members clubs, then don't join. The joining fees are a fraction of those at the RBSC or Polo Club and not there to "keep out the hoy polloy [sic] " but to fund the maintenance and improvement of the facilities.}

I've been banking with BBL for over a decade and while I've never been told that had to buy insurance, I have been subject to some medium-to-high pressure sales tactics. All bank staff are on commission and quota to shift these insurance products (whole life policies, structured life/savings products), as the profit margin to the bank is quite high. Appears to be seasonal - last quarter of the year is particularly bad, as they ramp up on LTF/RMF sales and try to piggy-back the junk on top. I've had the foreign exchange officer pitch me for 45 minutes when all I wanted to do was buy some euros for a trip. I clearly wasn't assertive enough in saying No the first 12 times.

As a "temporary resident", your friend would have to demonstrate that the funds for her condominium purchase had been transferred from outside of Thailand before the Land Titles Office would register ownership in her name. This is one reason that local mortgages are difficult for temporary residents to obtain.

My Bangkok Bank Be 1st VISA debit card has always worked reliably in ATMs around the world, however making debit card payments at merchants has been another story - very hit and miss. I would say declined more than accepted. Certainly, in any country where PIN (as opposed to signature) identification is mandatory (e.g. the UK), Thai debit cards are unlikely to be accepted for merchant payments.

Can you have money sent into a farang or Thai bank account from a third party to start up a business?

Yes. Generally speaking there are very few restrictions on sending money into Thailand. Getting any significant amount out again can be more challenging.

You can buy anything you want to in this country without a Foreign Exchange Certificate. You just won't be able to take the money back out of Thailand without it

Incorrect. The Land Titles Office will not register a transfer of title for a condominium to a buyer who is not (1) a Thai citizen or (2) a Permanent Resident of Thailand unless the buyer can present Foreign Exchange Transaction certificates showing the transfer of foreign currency into Thailand at least equal to the purchase price of the condominium.

The best suggestion so far is for the OP to go to the bank to which he transferred his original capital from abroad and see if they can still issue an FET.

If you sell your condo in the future and you want to send the money out of the country, then you need the receipt from the Land Titles Office showing that you have paid all of the relevant taxes on the sale (and there are several, including income tax).

And a foreigner who's working in thailand with a work permit, also doesn't require to show the FET form.

Sorry, also incorrect. Having a work permit does not remove the requirement to source funds for a condominium purchase from outside of Thailand. Only citizens and Permanent Residents can use funds from domestic sources.

You can buy anything you want to in this country without a Foreign Exchange Certificate. You just won't be able to take the money back out of Thailand without it

Incorrect. The Land Titles Office will not register a transfer of title for a condominium to a buyer who is not (1) a Thai citizen or (2) a Permanent Resident of Thailand unless the buyer can present Foreign Exchange Transaction certificates showing the transfer of foreign currency into Thailand at least equal to the purchase price of the condominium.

The best suggestion so far is for the OP to go to the bank to which he transferred his original capital from abroad and see if they can still issue an FET.

If you sell your condo in the future and you want to send the money out of the country, then you need the receipt from the Land Titles Office showing that you have paid all of the relevant taxes on the sale (and there are several, including income tax).

God knows what I have to do if she wants to come with me to Ireland via the UK.

The good news is that if she obtains a UK Entry Clearance, she no longer requires a separate visa to travel to the Republic of Ireland. Applies to Thai nationals as of last November.

See http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Visa%20Waiver%20Programme

THB 1,700 is a bit toppy - Bangkok Bank charges 400 baht for a transfer initiated over the counter, 300 baht for one initiated online. Most banks quote two prices for a TT (telegraphic transfer): one for "split charges" (sender pays charges in Thailand, recipient pays charges from their bank) and one for "sender pays" (charges from both sending and receiving bank paid by the sender). THB 1,700 sounds more like the charge for the latter option.

Not sure if Bangkok Bank would accept a TT order from a someone who isn't already a Bangkok Bank client. They probably would as long as you have a passport and the amount isn't too large.

bullshit, if you ask me, anyone is free to work anywhere

Actually, no, it's not. The Philippines, for one, has a system of licensing employment agencies and overseas workers. A government agency (POEA) verifies that overseas employment opportunities are legitimate and that workers leaving for overseas employment are not being trafficked for other purposes. A Filipino worker leaving for employment requires an Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC). Filipinos leaving the country without an OEC can be stopped by Philippines Immigration and denied boarding if they can't produce compelling evidence that they are travelling as tourists. Young, single women with only basic education are particularly likely to be subject to "secondary inspection" (yes, that's the term they use) for obvious reasons. You can Google for the hundreds of instances where "gentlemen of leisure" have tried to take their Filipina girlfriends out of the PI for a holiday, only to have them stopped at Immigration and turned back.

Given the number of overseas Thai workers who end up mistreated, ripped-off or in situations pretty close to indentured servitude, the Thai government might want to consider a similar system. Unfortunately, there is always a minority who is happy and willing to take advantage of the desperate.

Overseas 15%, local only 3%.

Thank you for info, what this withholding tax really mean, how does it work, is there any possibility that we can get it back later?

Depending on where the consulting service is resident for tax purposes, they may be able to claim taxes paid overseas (i.e. the Thai withholding tax) as a credit against their corporate income tax.

All government offices and many private businesses are closed through New Years Day, re-opening on Thursday, January 2nd.

OP qoutes "A resident of Thailand is liable to pay tax on income from sources in Thailand as well as on the portion of income from foreign sources that is brought into Thailand"

My question then is, are we residents? I thought we are non-residents, tourists, providers, walking ATM's etc etc. Technically we are not residents, so income earned o/s is none of there business.

What am I missing here?

"Tax resident" and "Immigration resident" are distinct concepts. For immigration purposes, you are "temporarily resident" if you are in Thailand on a visa exempt entry, a Tourist Visa or a Non-Immigrant Visa. You are "permanently resident" if you have a Non-Quota Immigrant visa or a Quota Immigrant visa.

"Tax resident" is determined by a number of factors but as a broad simplification, if you are physically present in Thailand for 180 days or more during a calendar year, you are probably tax resident.

The two concepts are distinct. You could, for example, be illegally resident as far as Immigration is concerned (e.g. overstayed) but still tax resident and required, for example, to submit a Thai Personal Income Tax return.

The Non-Quota Immigrant Visa (not to be confused with a Non-Immigrant Visa) goes in your passport and is valid for one year. Your Certificate of Residence gets "endorsed" - a stamp in the certificate that is valid for one year. Endorsement costs 1,900 baht and Visa costs 3,800 baht for multiple entry (1,900 for single entry).

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

I was in a similar situation. All Permanent Residents over the age of 12 must have an Alien Registration Certificate and children turning 12 must register within 7 days. I forgot to register my daughter after her 12th birthday and by the time I remembered, we were two weeks late. Registration proceeded as normal at the police station and after the book was completed, we were sent downstairs to the booking desk. There was some debate about the scale of the penalty to be levied and I was starting to get worried that some exorbitant sum would be demanded for our tardiness. They eventually decided that 100 baht was the correct amount. An official receipt was issued.

Far and away the most common reason for losing PR is leaving the country without getting your Certificate of Residence endorsed or not returning before the endorsement expires.

Bettlejuice - I travel very regularly between Thai and my western passport, and often enough to the UK. While I don't dispute your story, doing the passport swap as many have described is the way to do it. No need for British visa's in Thai passports, etc. A british passport is the ulitmate right of entry into the UK and trumps a visa any day.

Well, I'll dispute the part in Beetlejuice's story about the friend being detained for hours at Heathrow and missing her flight. There is no outbound immigration control in the UK, so who exactly "detained" this friend when she showed the "wrong" passport? Airline check-in staff? Random passers-by? Over-eager Boots security staff?

I have 3 passports and almost always find myself in the situation where I'm departing a country on one passport and entering my destination on another. The only places where this has been an issue:

1. Land crossings from Thailand into neighboring countries - no choice but to use the same passport here.

2. Landing in Vientiane on a flight from Bangkok. Laos Immigration couldn't find a Thai exit stamp in my passport and asked for the passport I had used to depart Thailand. I fibbed and said I had only transited at Suvaranabhumi and hadn't entered Thailand.

3. Ferry crossings from Hong Kong to Macau. Macau Immigration has insisted that I enter Macau on the same passport that I used to exit Hong Kong, but couldn't explain why this was required. Interestingly, no problem in the reverse direction.

Follow the general rule that you should leave any country using the same passport that you used to enter it and you'll rarely have an issue. The more observant immigration officers might ask about the absence of an exit stamp from your point of origin but most won't even notice. In the OP's case, having his daughter leave Thailand on her Thai passport and enter the UK on her British passport is the way to go - indeed, the UK requires its citizens to use their UK passports to enter and leave the UK.

Technically, visa exempt entries are for tourism purposes only and any visit for business purposes requires a Non-Immigrant "B" visa. In practice, arriving on a visa exempt entry for a single day's meeting is low risk.

Unless you use one of the automated entry/exit gates at Suvarnabhumi, in which case your passport doesn't get stamped.

The re-entry permit for a PR-holder is indeed different and it costs more. In addition you can not get it at the airport, as far as I'm aware.

You also use a different form to apply.

Actually, the annual cost of remaining in Thailand as a Temporary Resident (i.e. a Non-Immigrant) or as a Permanent Resident are comparable.

Temporary Resident:

Annual Extension of Stay: 1,900 baht

Re-Entry Permit: 1,000 baht (single re-entry) or 3,800 (multiple re-entry)

Permanent Resident:

Endorsement of Certificate of Residence: 1,900 baht

Non-Quota Immigrant Visa (not to be confused with a Non-Immigrant Visa): 1,900 baht (single entry) or 3,800 baht (multiple entry).

So assuming multiple overseas trips are required in a year, both cost 5,700 baht. One difference is that even if the applicant never leaves Thailand, the Temporary Resident must obtain an annual Extension of Stay whereas the Permanent Resident doesn't have to do anything.

When you say your Non-Imm B "expires" on March 31, do you mean that is the "Use Before" date on the visa or is it the "Admitted Until" date on your last entry stamp? It's the latter that counts. If you last entered in late February, for example, your Admitted Until date will be in May.

If, indeed, it is your Admitted Until date that is March 31, then a one day overstay will not result in a fine (waived if you leave on the first day of overstay). You will, however, have an overstay stamp placed in your passport. There has never been any credible evidence that this has prejudiced a future visa application, though.

There had been two x Thai A340's parked at Don Mueang airport for three weeks now, both with all the eight engines covered in red protection caps. They must be losing money with them out of service! Wonder what's up with them?

Think those are the non-stop LAX planes..cancelled the route and trying to sell the planes, but nobody wants them. They are very specific in terms of what routes they can serve and their internals where done up all business class.

These are two of the four A340-500 series aircraft that Thai acquired to fly the JFK and LAX direct routes. Not all business class - they were identically fitted out with economy, business and, in a first and last for Thai Airways - premium economy seating. I used the JFK service a lot in 2005/2006 as it was very convenient. From memory, premium economy seats were routinely available for around THB 75,000 and were a good alternative to business at less than half the price. Unfortunately, the economics of ultra-long haul flights are tricky - so much of the maximum gross take-off weight is devoted to fuel rather than paying passengers or cargo. With so many competitors doing one stop services to both LAX and JFK, Thai could never seem to extract the premium required to make the service viable. In my experience, load factors were always high to JFK but Thai still couldn't make money. I believe JFK direct was dropped in 2008 and LAX followed last year. The aircraft used on the JFK service were redeployed on a new direct service to Oslo - not sure if they are still flying there. Thai has been trying to sell the planes ever since but no one else seems to want to dip their toes into the ultra-long haul pond, at least not with the A340-500. Even SQ is phasing out its legendary all business class direct service to Newark later on this year.